Welcome

Welcome
John William Tuohy lives in Washington DC

The Amberg and Shapiro Brothers of Brownsville

*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***

 


PSA, the Journal of the Pirandello Society of America seeks submissions of short dramatic pieces (5 to 30 minutes of expected performance time) inspired by Luigi Pirandello’s short stories, for publication in the next or future issues. An essential requirement is that proposed dramaturgies draw inspiration from Pirandello’s short stories.

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Last Frontier Theater Conference ~ up to 200 submissions will be accepted from new applicants; at that point, full-length submissions will only be open for Alaskans, past participants. New folks will still be able to submit plays 30 minutes and under.

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Heartland Theatre Company is seeking eight 10-minute original plays to be considered for production in June of 2023 as part of our 20th annual 10-minute play festival. This year, the theme is THE WAITING ROOM.

*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***


*** CROSS-DRESSING MUSICALS ***

These periodic speeches of “we-get-it-we-really-do” rather undermine Tootsie’s central conceit: a male actor dresses as a woman to get work, leading to a woman falling for him as a woman, and a man falling for him as a woman. The experience teaches Michael—well, what exactly? How hard it is to be a woman, and phew, he’s ultimately very happy to be a man, albeit one who’s learned something about sexism.

While there is no overt homophobia or misogyny in either movie or stage show, note that the central “joke” in both of Tootsie’s intimate scenarios is that Michael’s cross-dressing could lead to, with both male and female suitors—oh no—two variants of a same-sex kiss or attraction, and Michael is a straight guy in a dress! Stop the clocks!

More...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/tootsie-on-broadway-a-cross-dressing-classic-gets-a-large-spoonful-of-woke


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“As the producers of Mrs. Doubtfire made clear in their statement on December 2, 'they have taken feedback and notes from people representing different constituencies who have seen rehearsals as part of the process of making the show.' One GLAAD employee attended a rehearsal, but not in an official consulting capacity. No formal feedback from GLAAD has been given to producers. Conversations between the show’s producers and GLAAD continue.

“Some media stories have implied that Mrs. Doubtfire has worked with GLAAD, while Tootsie did not. On the contrary, GLAAD has been working closely with the producers and creative team of Tootsie during its rehearsal process and Broadway run, to make sure any concerns from members of the transgender community are addressed. It has been a collaborative and productive relationship. GLAAD’s insights and suggestions have been met with understanding and have been implemented into the production where needed.

More...
https://playbill.com/article/exclusive-glaad-responds-to-mrs-doubtfire-and-tootsie-reports


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After much self-ballyhooing, this much anticipated revival of the musical 1776 has arrived, and the trend-makers (and Hamilton whisperers) at the American Repertory Theater and Roundabout Repertory Theatre Company also draw on the signing of the Declaration of Independence as a way to reenvision history. In this version, the roles of the members of the first Continental Congress — white men all — are performed by a multiracial, multigenerational cast that includes only female, nonbinary, and transgender performers.

Like so many 20th-century plays and musicals, 1776, which opened on Broadway in 1969, desperately calls for an update. In the over half a century since the show won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical, many of the air-brushed myths about our founding fathers have been undermined. Among the complicating facts: of the 47 original signers of our first guiding document, 34 were slaveholders. Perhaps no one in that First Congress has been the subject of a more radical change of heart than the author of the Declaration himself, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson (played with grit and underlying anger by Elizabeth A. Davis) is one of the show’s three leading characters. His sexual involvement with his slave Sally Hemings after his wife’s death resulted in six children. The other two leads are John Adams (Crystal Lucas-Perry, who is solid in the role, but not nearly obnoxious or disliked enough) and Benjamin Franklin (the wonderful, but too understated, Patrena Murray). The action of the narrative spans two months during a blistering hot Philadelphia summer in May and June of 1776, culminating with the signing of the Declaration on July 4.

More...
https://artsfuse.org/257661/theater-review-1776-still-an-egg-in-the-theatrical-incubator/


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One can fit a number of genres and genders under a dress-wearing umbrella — there are men and male-presenting performers playing women, playing men playing women, wearing dresses for drama, wearing dresses for laughs, wearing dresses as a means of self-expression. And many artists see drag, performed by people of all genders, as its own distinct category of stylized performance.

Each new production prompts a new round of reflection, conversation, and occasionally controversy over whether these characterizations are sexist, transphobic, dated or delightful. The musical adaptation of “Some Like It Hot,” a 1959 movie starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe, promises that the film’s plot and characters “have been updated for a modern audience,” and one of its lead actors is nonbinary.

One long-running production is now rethinking its practice. Since 1996, “Chicago” has featured a character, Mary Sunshine, played by a male soprano dressed as a woman, whose wig is dramatically removed to reinforce the line, “things are not always as they appear to be.” But the show has just posted a notice inviting performers of “any gender identity” to audition for the role; asked about the change, Barry Weissler, a lead producer, said: “Our collective understanding of gender and the art of drag has evolved over the past two decades. We updated our casting breakdown to reflect this.”

More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/09/theater/comedy-gender-some-like-it-hot.html


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At first glance, the Kinky Boots represent the fruits of two New Yorkers who have made countless contributions to American literature, theater, music, and film. The glittery, thigh-high, men’s boots worn in a theatrical production by a cross-dressing character who vividly speak up for an often-misunderstood community. They also represent one of New York City’s most vibrant industries. Within the context of the musical, the boots symbolize a timely message of tolerance and an appreciation for cultural and human differences. For centuries, works of art have been analyzed for the light they can shed on the cultures that produced them. As works of art and objects of material culture, the boots offer an opportunity to reflect on contemporary debates about gender, discrimination, and intolerance.

More...
https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/heels-history-sparkly-red-kinky-boots-tell-us-american-culture


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The arrival in the West End in March of a stage musical version of the hit Australian film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert will continue that dialogue as three drag queens reinvent themselves as a family unit aboard a tour bus.

Cross-dressing has lately been used to explore these matters, but the theatre has always been about dressing up – not least for the very practical reason that women were banned acting on the Greek and Shakespearean stage, forcing men to play the women's roles.

Nowadays, of course, those prohibitions are long gone and women are laying claim to men's roles. As Michael Billington has previously argued: "There should be much more gender switching in the classics: not least because women are otherwise excluded from great roles."

If such gender switches are to be welcomed, is it important for the actor to share the sexuality of the role he or she is playing? Fierstein, for his part, has fought to have gay men play Albin in La Cage. He says in a programme note to the current production: "If you stand up and sing 'I Am What I Am' without feeling your sexuality and your persecution right down to your painted toenails, it's never going to be quite the same thing."

More...
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2008/nov/05/drag-hairspray-priscilla-wig-out


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Booking is now open for La Cage Aux Folles, and the FM Theatre Productions and Teatru Manoel co-production will continue the legacy in Malta of this internationally acclaimed musical, which has won multiple Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book and Best Musical Revival, as well as a Laurence Olivier Award. 

“We can’t wait to present La Cage Aux Folles at the Manoel this October,” says FM Theatre Productions founder and managing director Edward Mercieca. “This crowd-pleasing, rollicking and heart-warming musical about family, commitment, show biz and drag is one of musical theatre’s all-time biggest hits and is sure to become one of Malta’s as well.”

Based on the 1973 French play by Jean Poiret, La Cage Aux Folles tells a funny and moving story that also served as inspiration for the much-loved movie The Birdcage, starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane.

After 20 years of partnered bliss, gay couple Georges and Albin run a drag nightclub in Saint-Tropez, where Albin is the star performer known as Zaza. When Georges’ son announces his impending marriage to the daughter of a bigoted, ultra-conservative politician, M Dindon, Georges reluctantly agrees to masquerade as ‘normal’ to meet the family of the bride-to-be – but Albin has other plans, with hilarious results!

Featuring a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, the FM Theatre/Teatru Manoel production of La Cage Aux Folles boasts an all-star cast including Mikhail Basmadjian as Georges, Ray Calleja as Albin and Edward Mercieca as M Dindon. An equally impressive supporting cast features Raphael Pace, Jasmine Farrugia, Francesco Nicodeme, Maria Eleonora Zammit, Krista Zammit Marmara and Sean Borg, among many others. Meanwhile, FM’s extraordinary creative team behind the production includes director Christopher Gatt, musical director Kris Spiteri and choreographer Francesco Nicodeme, with vocal coach Tina Frendo.

More...

https://www.indulge.com.mt/rollicking-musical-la-cage-aux-folles-to-dazzle-audiences-at-the-manoel/

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